By now, many of you may know WHY I suggested backing up your systems with older versions of Adobe software installed. Unfortunately, I was under NDA, so I could not disclose that as of a few days ago, Adobe has pulled ALL previous versions of the Creative Cloud Apps, leaving only this version and the last most recent version. In this case, leaving only last year’s and this years. An exception to this is InDesign, which, for a while will still offer access to older versions. While this doesn’t affect people who bought boxed versions of software (despite some technical difficulties in accessing the electronic download files at the moment), anyone who was using something from CS6 Subscription, to CC2017 are out of luck in ever restoring these versions, if necessary. This includes me – who started using the subscription model at CS6.

I know that Adobe is not doing this because they want to. I know they have a legal reason for doing so (which was not disclosed to us), but it goes against every promise Adobe made to it’s subscription users from the beginning – the promise that we’d have access to older versions at any time.

For people who have been balking about the subscription model, this has just added fuel to the fire.

The good news for those who need alternative software to Adobe’s Photoshop/Lightroom bundle, there are a few great alternatives. In a previous post, I revealed a discount from Skylum, on their Luminar offering.

But, On1 Photo RAW has extended it’s $30 off discount in it’s software until May 15th.

SO many features to list, but the new ones are:

Dual Mode — Easily undock the Browse Module from the Edit Module, use a second display, or make sales or client presentations on a projector or TV. The dual mode will allow photographers to customize how they want to work when browsing and editing photos.

Edit History — A full edit history will be added when working on photos. Each editing step will be viewable, along with the ability to roll-back and compare adjustments. Photographers can also revert to the beginning of the editing session.

Settings Applied Info — Photographers will be able to quickly view which modules, tools, and filters are applied to a photo. This non-linear approach will also allow photographers to double-click on a setting and jump straight to it for further adjustments.

Selective Sync — Enhanced granularity in which settings to apply when syncing your settings (or pasting and saving a preset) will be added. For example, photographers will be able to drill down and only apply a white balance adjustment. The ability to sync cropping, retouching and brush strokes between photos will also be included.

Hierarchical Keywords — The master keyword list will now support nesting keywords inside of other keywords. Nested keywords will allow photographers to organize keywords as they see fit. Importing a list of nested keywords from other apps like Adobe Lightroom® will also be supported.

Apple® Photos® Extension Enhancements — Integration with Apple Photos now supports the full raw data, improving adjustments to tone and color. It also supports re-editable non-destructive editing and more native ON1 Photo RAW features like layers, crop, and text.

First Launch Experience — If it is your first time using ON1 Photo RAW, there will be new walkthroughs to help you learn the basics. This will give photographers a running start and directs them where to learn more.

Tool Tips — Tool tip animations will be added to improve the usability and shorten the learning curve for each tool.

Layers Enhancements — Create a new canvas of any size or change the size of the existing canvas.

Text Tool Enhancements — Add a background color to a text box and control its opacity. Easily control the character and line spacing. New options also will allow photographers to duplicate and change the order of text boxes and automatically insert text from a photo’s metadata.

Performance Improvements — Zooming, panning, and brushing are now much faster. A new preview quality option can help increase performance on lower-end and integrated video cards as well. Export is now up to 10x faster when resizing or exporting a photo or photos already edited.

Local Adjustments — The Local Adjustments tools will be faster to brush and adjust.

Windows High-DPI — Support for high-dpi displays on Windows will be dramatically improved. The scaling of the fonts and controls will work much better, especially on 4k displays and laptops.

Keywording — Keywords will be easier to search, add, delete, and modify. Also, keywords are now case sensitive.

Soft Proofing in Resize — The soft-proofing feature will also be available in ON1 Resize (Genuine Fractals®).

Drag and Drop from Film Strip — Drag and drop photos from the film strip to add them as new layers.

Increased Thumbnail Size Range — The range of thumbnail size will be increased, so photographers can go all the way up to two giant thumbnails or down to tiny thumbnails to survey an entire folder.

Default Photo Location — Now control the default photo location in Browse. This is where ON1 Photo RAW will look to find photos instead of the Pictures folder.

Preview the Resize Algorithm — When using the Genuine Fractals algorithm, photographers will be able to preview the resulting quality at 100% zoom to more accurately adjust the options and sharpening.

Persistent Crop Preset State — The crop tool settings will be persistent and remembered across photos.

Search by Adjustments Added — Search for photos based on specific adjustments applied such as cropped, retouched, etc.

Update to Lightroom Migration — The Lightroom Migration tool will now migrate the pick and reject flags.

Edit (5/8/19): Adobe appears to have succumbed to the pressure. They’ve currently withdrawn their price hike, for the moment.

On May 2nd, Petapixelposted a story about Adobe increasing the price of it’s Photography Plan from $9.99/mo to $19.99/mo. Doubling it’s price!

As you all know, I’m an Adobe person. I love the Adobe ecosystem, it’s offerings, and it’s power. Photoshop was my first “Adobe baby”, when I started using it at Version 2.5 (before layers were invented, let alone, editable text!). I am an Adobe Certified Instructor for Photoshop and an Adobe Community Professional.

However, I don’t know if this price increase is a great idea for Adobe, unless they’re comfortable losing their Photography customers. YES, paying into the subscription plan will keep you up to date on ALL the new features of Photoshop and Lightroom as they come up. YES, Photoshop is still the most powerful image editor out there, especially for people who want to create composites and compositions, include the ability to create video (and work with video clips), and work in 3D in their image editor. It has many graphic features not employed by it’s competitors in the image editing space. However, for those who are strictly focused on their photography, who want power and don’t care about Photoshop’s powerful design capabilities, their 3D, and their video options (and more), there are some AMAZINGLY POWERFUL Alternatives:

Affinity Photo is also a powerful alternative for Photoshop. And serif.com has created a strong ecosystem of their own – offering an Illustrator and an InDesign alternative as well. Affinity Photo can be purchased at $69.99 (Canadian dollars)

And for those of you who like to work with Donation-ware (FREE, but requesting donations), please take a look at GIMP – a powerful, cross-platform image editor at https://www.gimp.org

If you feel I left your favorite out of this list, please say something in the comments!

It features a new AI-powered Quick Mask Tool that’s a game changer in photo editing. It allows you to create detailed masks in seconds, making it easier than ever to replace backgrounds or target specific areas for effects or local adjustments.

Here’s a quote from a happy ON1 customer about the AI Quick Mask Tool:

“Wow, the applications for this new masking ability are practically endless, especially when you think about how you can use the mask afterward for other effects and local adjustments. I can’t wait to go back into some of my pictures from that past few years and use this feature. It’s awesome!” – Jesse

Download the new ON1 Photo RAW 2019.2 and we’ll show you exactly how to use the new AI Quick Mask tool. It’s easy and fun, and it gives you limitless creative possibilities. Buy during our Kick Off Sale to get a great deal with bonus extras!

For just $69.99, you get a full, non-subscription license to one of the most powerful photo editing tools ever, plus, they’re including EVERYTHING you need to get up and running:

ON1 Photo RAW 2019.2

RAW Processing 101 Video Course

Learn how to take photos straight out of your camera and edit them to look exactly like they did on the camera’s display screen. Includes 9 downloadable lessons, practice files, and follow-along raw files. – $24.99

ON1 Photo RAW 2019 Looks eBook & Video

25 step-by-step editing looks and videos that make it easy to get started with Photo RAW 2019. – $39.99

ON1 Loyalty Rewards 2019

It’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year – free presets, textures, eBooks, and more every month! – $100

Using Artificial Intelligence in combination with your skills (or free presets plus your skills), you can make your photos as beautiful as you see them in your mind.

As with any software, the original new release had some bugs, but, per Skylum:
Thank you very much for reporting the issues you have encountered with Luminar 3, you helped us fix a lot of bugs. Your feedback is very valuable for the team, and as a result of that we are releasing the hotfix update of Luminar 3 where a lot of things you’ve flagged have been fixed.

It’s your double win! Get Luminar 2018 with the all-new AI Sky Enhancer now and update to Luminar 3 with Libraries for FREE. Plus, you get a bunch of exclusive extras worth US$222! Luminar 2018 will receive a free upgrade to Luminar 3, in 1 week!

ViewBug: 3-Month Pro Membership (US$42 value) – Join the ultimate photo community for a shot to win prizes, create own challenges, get unlimited photo uploads, sell your images, enjoy a new website, and much more!

Skylum Luminar Black Friday Offer – with Coupon!

Coupon Code SGANS_DISC

For those who want to do MORE with their image edits, Skylum Luminar is the app for you! Skylum Luminar and Aurora HDR are the perfect combo for editing, improving photos, getting creative, and making your photos into art pieces.

Skylum Luminar Black Friday Offer – with Coupon!

Coupon Code SGANS_DISC

For those who want to do MORE with their image edits, Skylum Luminar is the app for you! Skylum Luminar and Aurora HDR are the perfect combo for editing, improving photos, getting creative, and making your photos into art pieces.

For those of you who want a product aimed at being a full replacement for the Photoshop/Lightroom workflow, On1 Photo RAW 2019 is going to be your answer. On1 is offering a terrific discount on any Pre-Order of this POWERFUL product, which will be released in November. But you don’t have to wait. Buy the 2019 version now, and get the 2018.5 version, and a free upgrade to 2019, when it’s released. that way, you don’t miss the power!

There are just TOO MANY tools to mention in this one post, and there’s a whole video to watch on the new features. To see all that in a powerful intro video, click HERE!

Note – when you buy On1 Photo RAW, you get a full suite of image editing software, without a subscription. You get free tech support, and, you can activate it on up to 5 computers.

UPDATE: One thing I failed to mention – for those of you who are already embedded into a Photoshop/Lightroom workflow – the On1 RAW 2019 version can import your Lightroom catalogs retaining all the settings you made in Lightroom! This, I find amazing!!!